The Wrong Side of the Wormhole
by MarieKR
Summary: What happens when Jack gets knocked through the gate - from the wrong side? (In Progress)
1. Sacrifice

"Carter, I thought you said there was NO ONE HERE!"

"The UAV didn't pick up anything, Sir; I don't know where they came from!"

"Run now, argue LATER," Daniel shouted, grabbing Jack's arm and hauling him along. O'Neill lowered his P-90, unable to find a target and return fire. The Jaffa — given the staff weapon fire, he was assuming Jaffa — had to be invisible, and it was pissing him off.

"Niirti?" he shouted.

"Probably, Sir. We need to have them lock down the gateroom and sweep it with TER's as soon as we get through."

"Agreed." Running wasn't conducive to holding a conversation, so Jack let it drop as they dashed for the gate.

Usually the gate-run was fairly simple: get there, dial home, send the IDC, and go. Not so today; they were _behind_ the gate. Usually, that wouldn't be much of a problem either, they'd just run around — or through — the stone ring so they could enter the wormhole from the correct side.

What made this mission so complicated was that the gate faced a drop-off — almost as though someone had sent a small bomb through that took out that entire side of the hill upon which the gate stood. To get back through they had to climb up onto the platform from behind the gate, run to the other side, climb down onto the slope, and then hug the cliff face to avoid the _whoosh_ of the opening wormhole before climbing back up and going through. They'd lost the MALP down that cliff; Jack worried about losing one of his team with it.

Ahead of them the gate came to life, the effect strange without the usual _whoosh_. Jack kept running, refusing to be distracted by seeing the wormhole activate from the back side — he could think about it later. Teal'c must've reached the DHD; sure enough, a few moments later Jack heard his GDO beep and, from the corner of his eye, caught it flashing a green light.

_All clear._ Pushing himself to move faster, he caught up with Daniel as the archaeologist reached the gate platform, helping the younger man heave himself up onto the stone. _Why did they make these things so high?_ he wondered as he ducked a staff blast. Daniel spun around as soon as he'd gotten up, reaching down to help Jack. As soon as the colonel had both feet on the platform, Daniel turned and grabbed the edge of the gate, holding onto it as he worked his way around the large ring to the other side.

Then Jack saw it.

From the corner of his eye a light flashed, and time slowed as he realized that the staff blast was headed _right for Danny_. He jumped forward, placing himself between the archaeologist and the weapon — and was caught in the shoulder. The sound alerted Daniel who turned his head, still clinging to the gate, in time to see his friend fall backward into the wormhole —

— _from the wrong side._


	2. Most Unpleasant

"Jack!" Daniel screamed, releasing the gate with one hand to reach out to his friend as he fell. The staff blast had come so close that Daniel had felt the heat of it as it passed by, seen the bloody burns form on Jack's chest and the panicked look in his eyes just before the older man was knocked into the active wormhole. Another blast startled him back into movement, and he hauled himself around the gate and onto the correct side. Teal'c was there, looking around frantically. His eyes landed on Carter as she slipped around the base of the gate platform, her smaller stature having allowed her to stay on the ground instead of forcing her to climb up onto the stone.

"Where is O'Neill?" the Jaffa shouted over the continuing staff weapon fire.

"He got hit and went through from the back end!"

Teal'c's eyes widened and the brown skin of his face grayed as the blood fled from it. Something the Jaffa had said once flashed through Daniel's mind — _His death was most unpleasant._ Teal'c had been referring to someone who had intentionally tried to do what had just happened to Jack… _his death was most unpleasant, most unpleasant, unpleasant… Oh God no…_

Daniel met Teal'c's eyes and shared a look of grief and pain with the other man that lasted for only a second.

"We gotta go!" Sam shouted at them, running up the platform steps, crouched over. She knew just as well as they did what had just happened and its implications, but she was in command now and had to get the team home — and the base swept for invisible Jaffa.

Together the two men dashed after her, Daniel feeling the cold of the wormhole freezing unshed tears in his eyes.

Jack was dead.

He exited the wormhole into a room filled with shouting that only got louder as the gate closed with its familiar _shwump._ Hammond was on the intercom ordering a base-wide lockdown and sweep with TERs, and Sam was headed up to him, likely to explain what had happened to Jack.

Daniel just stood there, uncertain what to do, feeling suddenly lost.

Teal'c came to stand next to him as he watched the General's face fall and shoulders sag slightly.

"We are to report to the infirmary, DanielJackson," he said after a minute. Daniel nodded, finally walking out of the gateroom. Teal'c followed him in a silence that persisted even when Sam caught up to them.

Thankfully the infirmary wasn't far away, and the SFs had already finished sweeping it by the time they arrived. Janet approached quickly, looking them over with a critical eye before calling for warm blankets for each of them — though Teal'c probably didn't need one, the other two did. Sam's eyes were distant and red, while Daniel just stared aimlessly at nothing, his arms wrapped so tightly about his chest that they trembled. One hour, three post-mission checks, and several mugs of coffee later, the remaining members of SG-1 were in the briefing room waiting for General Hammond to finish digesting all they'd told him about the mission.

"The mission was a waste, Sir," Sam had snapped earlier, unable to restrain herself. "The Jaffa were between us and the trinium and naquadah deposits _and_ the Ancient ruins Daniel wanted to look at."

"Damn it," he muttered softly, shaking his head once. He felt responsible — hell, he _was_ responsible — for Jack's death, having decided the potential benefits to be found on the planet were worth risking sending his premier team on a mission that was risky enough without invisible Jaffa due to the precariously situated gate.

"Teal'c, you're certain there's no way the colonel survived?" he asked, grasping at straws. No one could blame him.

"I do not see how he could have, though I am surprised that his… remains… did not arrive here through the gate," he said. "When Rona'c attempted to pass through the gate from the wrong side, contact with the wormhole resulted in the disintegration of the hand with which he touched it. He then fell in, much as DanielJackson describes O'Neill did, and when we exited on the other side we found him, dead."

"What happened to him, Teal'c?" The Jaffa hesitated before answering.

"He appeared to have been severely burned, almost melted, and his hand was not found."

Daniel, Sam, Hammond, and Janet all turned white, and Teal'c bowed his head sadly, staring at his hands. The General turned to Janet.

"And the rest of SG-1 checks out, Doctor?" he asked with concern more for their minds than their bodies.

"All three returned in various states of shock, General, however I don't feel the need to keep any of them here. I do however recommend they each have at least one session with Doctor MacKenzie." She cast a side-look at Daniel, expecting him to glare at her, but he didn't react. Her eyes met Hammond's again and the General nodded slightly, acknowledging her concern.

"Thank you, Doctor. You are dismissed."

Janet left, ducking around the SF that appeared in the doorway, panting slightly.

"Sir," he said, offering Hammond a salute before entering the room fully, "We caught two Jaffa with the TERs and have confiscated their weapons and invisibility devices. We currently have them locked in separate detention cells and are awaiting further orders."

"Very well," Hammond said, standing up. He looked at the battered remains of SG-1 and made a decision. "Let's go find out what these bastards came here for," he said, wishing he could add "and make them pay for what they did to Colonel O'Neill."


	3. Diversionary Tactics

Unsurprisingly, the Jaffa weren't cooperative.

Surprisingly, they were dead.

"What the hell happened here!?" Hammond demanded of the guards.

"We don't know, Sir," one of them responded. "They had no weapons on them, and I can't find any wounds. They must have poisoned themselves somehow."

"This is not common among Jaffa; it is cowardly and without honor," Teal'c said. "We are taught that when captured we are to endure the torture of our enemies as punishment for being caught. I am sorry I did not anticipate this circumstance."

"It's not your fault, Teal'c," Hammond said. "We _all_ should've thought of this beforehand, as soon as they were captured." He turned to the guards. "Take them to the morgue, see if Frasier can figure out how they did it." The men nodded and turned to their grisly task, leaving the General with SG-1 to figure out what to do next.

"What now?" Daniel asked, looking up from his feet briefly but keeping his arms wrapped tightly around his chest in his most vulnerable self-hug.

General Hammond had just opened his mouth to reply when the base sirens went off, summoning him to the Control Room.

"What now?" he fumed, heading for the nearest elevator, SG-1 following just behind. "Shut down the gate! Close the iris!" he shouted as soon as he saw a Jaffa standing in front of the dialing gate.

"We can't sir, we've tried." Hammond stared at Lieutenant Simmons, his round face turning red.

"How the hell did he get in there?"

"Shock grenade, sir. He came out of your office—"

"—My office!"

"Yes sir."

At that moment a troop of heavily armed SFs broke into the gateroom — just in time to watch the Jaffa disappear through the wormhole in a hail of bullets.

"Was he hit?" Hammond shouted into the microphone.

"Unknown, Sir," came the reply.

"Damn." He thumbed the switch to activate the base-wide PA system. "This is Hammond; I'm ordering a full TER sweep of the base, again, TWICE this time. We missed one, and we damn well better not miss any more." He turned to Sam as she spoke up from behind him.

"Sir, I need to see your laptop."

"Why Major?"

"Sir, you're the highest-ranking officer on this base. As such, your computer is the only one that can access EVERY system we have — you could set the auto-destruct from that laptop if you had to."

The General's red face paled.

"And you think the Jaffa could've taken it?"

"Or information from it, yes," Sam replied.

"Go." Sam raced up the steps to the General's office, Daniel right behind her. Teal'c stayed back for a moment as Hammond ordered all the access codes, passwords, and other security measures on the base changed — just in case.

* * *

"Well?" The General asked a while later, looking at the unassuming black rectangle that was his computer and the frown marring Major Carter's face.

"It doesn't look good, Sir."

"How do you mean, Major? It looks fine to me." He gestured at the undamaged piece of technology.

"Well, you're right, physically it's fine," she said. She picked up a paperclip and dropped it on the device, causing a small shower of sparks to fly from the contact. "It's also booby-trapped." She frowned. "Given that I've managed to connect our computers to several different Goa'uld devices — not to mention the Stargate and DHD — I think it's safe to assume that they have a way to download the information from our computers if they chose. Either way, General, if you'd touched it, it would've killed you."

* * *

_TO BE CONTINUED._

_Short chapter, sorry about that and sorry it took so long to update. Real life and all that. _

_(As always, I don't own them, I just take them out to play.)_


	4. Dear Jack

_Dear Jack,_

_The absolute irony — which you would probably appreciate — is that when I feel this way I always go to you, but this time you're the one who's causing the feelings._

_You're the one who's gone._

_This was our first mission after the X-302 disaster — the FIRST. You don't think you could've waited a mission or two before getting yourself killed?_

_I just got you back._

_I remember when you two appeared in the ring transporter, and then just fell over. The dread that had been building inside me flowed through every vein as I went to you. Teal'c was moving; you were not, and all I could think was that maybe, just maybe, if I got that mask off of you I could get you breathing again. Hell, I'd been running over the steps of CPR in my mind since Jacob had me run back to the cargo hold!_

_For nothing._

_You lived. Your grip on my hand when you saw me was strong and sure, and stayed that way even when your hand fell to my knee. I think you only had me help you get up because you wanted the contact; you got over the anoxia so fast Janet was stunned. I think she was disappointed you didn't have to stay in the infirmary. A few days down-time, a new mission, and you died._

_Right there an arm's reach away._

_Saving my life._

_Again._

_I wasn't ready for it._

Daniel set his pen down and rubbed his eyes, reminded of the incident with the orb that pinned Jack to the gateroom wall. Daniel had stayed up all night then as well, rubbing away sleep and squeezing to stop stray tears. He wasn't much of a crier, but sometimes the moisture got too much for him, tried to escape, and he fought to keep it away.

_You shouldn't have done it, Jack. I'm 'dead again Daniel,' I always come back. I've taken a staff blast before, I would've been fine._

_You know, I think my last words to you were "Run now, argue later!" What kind of thing is that to end a relationship on? _

_Yeah, I realize that now I'm just looking for more things to feel guilty about. _

_It was meaningless, Jack. You died for absolutely no reason, and I'm not handling that well._

_Not that anyone else is either._

_They've double-checked the base with TERs twice now. I think if there was anything to find we'd have found it, but since we missed the guy who tried to kill Hammond, I'm not going to blame them for being overly cautious. _

_He's changing everything about the base that he can, codes, offices, you name it. If you ever found your office, Jack, you'd never find it now. They're relocating me tomorrow. The General refuses to move his because he doesn't want to put anyone at risk — and really, where else would he go? His office is where it is for a reason._

_Teal'c's been kel-no-reem-ing since the searches were finished; no one's seen him for hours now. Sam is personally building the General a new laptop. I think she's analyzing the old one to see how the Jaffa sabotaged it and try to prevent anyone from doing it again._

_I walked by her lab and heard her sobbing._

_I feel lost without you, Jack, and so do the others. If I'm SG-1's 'voice,' as you've called me, our 'conscience,' then you were always the glue that held us together. Our leader. I know you're not smart in the way Sam and I are; you're a tactician, a strategist, the clichéd street-smarts that balanced our book-learning. _

_You're my best friend. _

_You were._

_I think I see what you meant about how it felt to have me trapped by Nem; knowing I was dead, knowing I was alive. I know you're dead, but I still feel that you're alive. Thinking of you in the past tense is difficult, and I keep waiting for you to walk in and start messing with my artifacts._

_I'll miss you pretending to be careless with them. You're too careful, too cautious to actually damage anything. I hope you knew that I knew that. I hope you knew that me moving them or taking them from you was all part of the game._

_Our game._

_SG-1's down for a week while Hammond chooses a Second and finds us a fourth. A new leader… tough shoes to fill, Jack. I think Teal'c only stays to honor your memory._

_I think I do to._

—

TO BE CONTINUED!

(Not mine, never will be.)

**HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY my American friends!**

**Please be aware of the veterans in your area; many of them are distressed by bottle rockets and other fireworks. Be courteous of those who gave up their freedoms to preserve ours.**


	5. What Would I Say?

_Dear Jack,_

_Sam's dad came by today to check out Hammond's old laptop__. He scanned it with some Tok'ra device — turns out the Jaffa who rigged it probably downloaded all the information on it. At least Hammond wasn't logged in to anything; the only information was the stuff stored on the computer. Which was a lot, but not the self-destruct program or anything catastrophic. _

_A Tok'ra operative found out about the attack after it happened: turns out no one was supposed to get hurt — no one, not even the dead Jaffa. Your death threw off their whole operation; we weren't supposed to know anyone was on that planet, let alone came through the gate. The one who started the shooting was tortured to death. He was just a kid, Jack, a child who got startled by something and reacted. _

_Did you know that infant Goa'uld are carnivorous? The Jaffa who killed you had his symbiote removed, and was then fed to a bunch of them — still alive. Obviously Nirrti wasn't happy. The two Jaffa who were captured were a last-minute diversion so that the last one could steal as much information as possible and then report back to Nirrti about the failure. The original plan involved them sticking around, sneaking through the gate with the SG teams to give her inside intel._

_Feretti's taking over SG-1. Apparently his Second's been ready for a promotion for a while now, so he'll be taking over for Feretti. I'm glad it wasn't another Marine; Makepeace really pissed me off, and that was before we found out he was a double-crossing bastard._

_I think I'm channeling you…_

_Anyway, even though that relationship started out poorly, Lou and I get along pretty well these days. It's nothing like being with you, but I know I can trust him. I know you trusted him. _

_I miss you, Jack. It's been three days, but I still expect you to show up and drag me off for lunch or over to your place for hockey. I wonder what's going to happen to your house; Hammond said something about reading your will after the memorial service tomorrow._

_They want me to say something. I guess it's only fair, because you spoke at mine… and no matter what else, I'll always consider you my best friend. It's just that… well… Jack, what would I say?_

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED

(Not mine, never was, never will be.)

Well, stay tuned to find out what - and if - Daniel says at the service, and how SG-1 moves on with their new leader.

Liking it so far, guys? Any questions that need answering?


	6. Remembering

"Jack O'Neill was my best friend." I stared at the flag on the ramp, forgetting my place for a moment. "He came into my life at its absolute lowest point, and though I didn't realize it at the time, it was the lowest point of his life as well. Maybe that's why he opened up to me during that first mission to Abydos. All I know is that by the time he left again, we'd both found new reasons to live.

"I didn't know him well, but during that year I missed him. When he came back I was disappointed he didn't seem happier to see me. Over time, that changed. Jack became the big brother I'd never had and never knew I needed. Eventually Sam and Teal'c became part of that connection, and the rest of the SGC did too, and I realized that I'd gained something I couldn't bear to lose a third time: a family.

"Jack was my family, and being without him is horrible, but I survive it because of the strength he showed me I have inside myself. I can, and will, continue on here at the SGC because of him. Jack was a good man. He's the reason why our mandate is to find allies, not just technology, and why our (as yet unofficial) motto is that we never leave our people behind. In some ways it feels like we left Jack behind; in others, it feels like he left us behind. The feelings are valid, but it isn't true.

"A military man to the core, Jack was also a deeply passionate individual. He showed his emotions through touch and wit, and hid them under sarcasm; if you ever received a clap on the shoulder, a press of the hand, or a clever remark from Jack O'Neill then consider yourself lucky, because that's how he showed people they meant something to him, just like we're here demonstrating how much he meant to us."

They began folding the flag, and tears burned behind my eyes.

"Given all that we've seen through the Stargate, I don't know what I believe about what happens after we die anymore. What I do know is that, whatever does come next, Jack has a place of honor there. I have never known anyone as noble, honorable, loyal, gentle, or kind as Jack O'Neill. All we can do is follow the example he set for us, and hope that someday we'll be with him again."

I stepped down from the podium, letting General Hammond take my place. Sam took the now-folded flag and presented it to me; I clutched it to my chest, curling my trembling fingers into the soft fabric. I would put it in its box later and take it to Sara — I felt it was my duty to tell her about Jack's passing — but for the moment, it was mine to cherish, a last connection to my dearest friend.

"We commend Colonel O'Neill's spirit to the universe he traveled bravely," Hammond said heavily. Sam and Teal'c released a wreath through the open wormhole onto the world where Jack died, and I turned away as it disappeared, remembering the faded leaves resting at the base of the gate on Oannes after Nem let us go. The gate shut down and my teammates returned, each standing on either side of me, shoulders pressed to mine as though holding me up.

Maybe they were. I felt tilty and fuzzy — not the most linguistically complex words ever, but they fit. People filed out of the large gray room and I was guided along with them. I recognized my office after a few minutes of sitting in it, wondering when we'd left the halls behind. The room was a different shape than I was used to — oh, yes, we'd rearranged the base just a few days ago. I'd almost forgotten.

Feretti was kneeling in front of me holding a triangular box made of dark wood, topped with a shiny pane of glass that currently stood open. I blinked at it for a time, finally realizing what it was for. Releasing my death-grip on Jack's flag, I placed it tenderly in the box and closed the lid, sealing the catch reverently. Lou nodded sadly at me and placed the box in my lap.

"I want to go home," I heard myself saying.

"Okay, Daniel, want me to drive you?" I shook my head at Sam.

"No. To Abydos." I barely managed to meet her eyes, noticing the dullness of the blue irises. "I need to be with my family… my other family… right now." She nodded, her face twisted. A thought struck me.

"Come with me, Sam? Teal'c?" Lou moved away, but I reached out and rested a hand on his arm. "And you?"

"Let me ask the General, Doctor Jackson," he said, patting my hand in a very, very un-Feretti-like gesture. He stood and left, leaving space for Teal'c to come sit down where he'd been kneeling. The Jaffa folded himself into his Kel'no'reem pose and then placed one large hand on my knee, the other resting on Sam's as she sat next to me on the couch.

He began to sing.

Teal'c had a lovely deep voice, and his song, sung in his native language, was both achingly sad and infinitely soothing.

It lulled me to sleep, the flag still tucked safely in my lap.

* * *

_TO BE CONTINUED._

_EAC (Guest) — Hey, thanks for the review! I was wondering what you meant when you said "surely not it's only been three days fercryinoutloud!" Surely not what, may I ask? You'll find out more about how Sam and Teal'c — and some others — are handling things next chapter!_

_(Not mine, never will be, glad you're all enjoying it, though!)_


End file.
